The Night of the Iguana

Depression

2009-10-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

For those that are down and out and suffer from depression, one possible way to help yourself is to follow the plan in the book called "A Course in Miracles". A lot of depressive states come from bad programming where you engrain negative thought patterns into your brain over time. To turn this around you have to retrain your brain and that is what this course is about. As with everything that is worth while it takes time for change so be patient. If you open yourself up for change and follow along, even if you don't believe, the results can be miraculous as the book's title suggests.

There is more info and an online course available at

http://www.acim.org/

Good luck

Sifu Randy Shipalesky

Not to be underestimated

2009-07-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

I would like to pay tribute to all the people in their senior years out there that are putting in the effort to become more physically fit. I find it inspiring to see the drive and effort some have to get out there and get active and especially those that are pushing past a disability.

This past winter I met a gentlemen, while walking on a local fitness track, who must have been in his early 70's . He was quite friendly and we started to talk as we walked together. I explained to him as we walked that I needed to stop and do 50 pushups as I was doing a 1000 pushup challenge and I had about 300 more to go. To my amazement he said " that sounds good I will do some with you" then I started thinking this guy was walking like he may have had a sore back and if he goes down what is it going to take to get him up again. I was soon humbled as this man went down and started pumping out pushups like a machine. Once again I was reminded never to underestimate someone.

My hat is off to those that are putting in the effort.

Randy Shipalesky

Where do the balloons go

2009-06-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

It was my 5 year old daughters kindergarden graduation last week and there were gifts and balloons given out. When we were leaving one of the childrens balloon got away on them and floated up and away. My daughter then came out with the words "the coral reef will be dead tommorrow". I had a little trouble putting the two together. It turns out that she was studying coral reefs in school and learnt that a lot of balloons that are released end up in the ocean and can harm the coral reefs. I had often wondered where weather balloons ended up. I guess it is very possible that a high percentage end up in the ocean and cause harm to fish that support the coral reefs.
What impressed me about this is that environmental awarness is being taught in the schools and the kids are thinking about it.

Randy Shipalesky

Small talk

2009-06-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

It has been a reasonably good week. Found that getting some pushups done shortly after getting out of bed helps motivate me for the rest of the day. Seems the longer I wait in the day to start the pushups the harder it is so a routine in the morning will be the answer to a long term plan.

Our company had our annual golf tournament which involves a lot of small talk and being the chatty person I am I talked constantly all day long. Right, if you know me you know that is not the case however I am getting better and did have a really good time.

A tense week coming up at work with having to do some conflict resolution with an Oil Company relating to this past winters work. It can be a challenge at times to keep emotions in check and remain professional. I will have to remember to pack my sparring gear.

Thats all for now.

Randy Shipalesky

Down but not out

2009-06-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since my last blog entry and I don’t really have a good excuse. I think the biggest resistance is that I do not see value in it or at least not yet. It could be argued that , how can you see value in something if you are not doing it. So in trusting in the same wisdom that guided me to my black belt I am committing to continue forward blogging on a weekly basis.

I have fallen behind on my UBBT requirements and recalculating to see what the new daily commitment will be to complete. I will not be able to complete one or two of the items that I had listed which means a failure however what is important to me is to develop the routines that will carry me beyond the 13 month commitment. I see the core items for me being the pushups, sit ups and running along with good eating habits. Being part of the group is also important which is something I definitely need to work on. Sorry guys, my time and thoughts have been consumed by business. Every time I hear the word BALANCE it echoes out to me and is a reminder that work should not consume our lives. I have learnt a new word called “delegate” and it seems to be helping.

I attended the Master McNeil healing seminar last Friday and was very impressed with the knowledge that this man has. He speaks with ease and is very interesting to listen to. Hopefully he will join us again.

Until next week

Randy Shipalesky

Mental attitude

2009-02-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

Looking back to the Chinese New Year and the 1000 pushup/situp challenge, I really did not know how I was going to complete the task. With a heavy work load that day it seemed like it was going to be impossible. As it turned out I ended up completed 80% of the challenge prior to starting work and the remainder on washroom breaks during the day. What really surprised me though was that I ended up achieving more on this day than pretty much any day I can remember and I put it down to the mental attitude. I had an attitude of determination and taking instant action. Now if I could do that everyday......

Randy Shipalesky

The moments that matter

2009-02-16T17:27:00.000-08:00

With work consuming my time and my thoughts it was great to take a day to spend with the family and be reminded of the moments that matter. Sometimes I forget that it is the simple things that bring me the most joy and I should work to live and not live to work. It seems that todays society is in a big rush to gain all this wealth which they believe will bring them happiness or buy things that will make them happy. It is this attachment to "things" that keeps us from the happiness we seek.

Having trouble with finding the right words to finish this Starbucks has come to my rescue. While I was writing this I started reading "The way I see it #198" on a Tai Chi Latte and this is the quote:

" You can shower a child with presents or money, but what do they really mean, compared to the most valuable gift of all - your time? Vacations and special events are nice, but so often the best moments are the spontaneous ones. Being there. Every moment you spend with your child could be the one that really matters."

Thank you Starbucks

Randy Shipalesky

Silent River Banquet

2009-02-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

Last nights Black Belt promotion was once again very inspiring for me. The lion dance was very well done and had everyone captivated with the performance. I had not seen this particular lion dance before and the switch out of performers got me.

The video of the candidates performing was top notch and it was obvious that a lot of time and effort went into it's creation.

It was great to see the expansion into a video commercial for the Silent River web site. Look forward to watching it again.

Everyone that helped out on the floor did great by pulling together and helping out where needed. The saying of "many hands make light work" definitely applies when it came to the setup and take down of the chairs, tables and dishes. Everyone dug in and made it happen which was great to see.

Looking forward to next year.

Randy Shipalesky

Inspiration

2009-01-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

In this post I am passing on a link that was sent out on the UBBT list serve. For those that did not receive this link, it is a very inspiring and moving video about Nick Vujicic who was born without arms and legs and is now touring the world passing on his story and words of hope. To view just click on his name. Although I found this clip got to me the most, if you do a web search on his name there are a number of other good videos as well.

Good luck to all on your challenges in the New Year. If you get to a point where your down and out and need a kick in the pants this video may help.

Sifu Randy Shipalesky

2008-12-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

It has been over a week since attending a powerful presentation by Memory Mdyetseni from Malawi, Africa called "Brick by Brick". After a personal struggle to gain an eduction Memory and cofounder Christie Johnson started Malawi Girls on the move. I find the mental pictures painted in my mind during Memory's presentation are still with me. When she spoke of something being hard you knew that to have gone through what she described would have been devastating. What I particularly like was the attitude regarding the students attending the school and the families supporting them. If the family or student could not afford the money to go to school then they could still contribute somehow, with her words to the effect of- No one gets in for free , If they got hands and legs then they can work either to build the school or grow food.

I am not going to go into great detail on "Malawi Girls on the Move" as more information is available at www.malawigirlsonthemove.com.

The devastating fact is that getting accepted into this school is life or death for these girls and there are many more applicants than there are spaces available.

The inspiration is that the girls that make it through are the seeds for change.

Randy Shipalesky

Inspiration

2008-11-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

Found a lot of inspiring video clips on the UBBT site. I spent a couple hours clicking on various links so I am not sure if I could even find them all again but I remember coming away very inspired on what others are doing and respect for the many hours of training behind the forms and techniques. Looking forward to putting this inspiration into action in my own training.

It has been a good week.

Completed week 11 of the body for life program and have reached what I had targeted for weight loss at the end of the 12 th week so I am happy with that. I have also achieved my personal best in consecutive pushups and distance running.

Our business location moved this weekend and it has messed up my noon work out routine so I have to change it up to early mornings to get it in. After the test run this morning it actually is better and I get it all done first thing. If your behind on pushups the early morning workout gives opportunity to get some extra ones.

Until next week

Randy Shipalesky

What energizes you?

2008-11-16T20:27:00.000-08:00

Had a few challenges in the last couple weeks having to do with breaking with routine. Having consistent workouts during lunch hour was working well until I had to go out of town for business. Although able to get a partial workout, it was not the same. After a couple days with the break in routine and not working out consistently I could see where it would not be hard to fall back into old habits. With that not being an option I reverted back to what had worked before to re-energize myself and that was running. With the ups and downs of training it is important that a person has something that they know that works for them to give themselves a boost. What's yours?

Randy Shipalesky

Pushups 5,210

Situps 4,785

run 89km

It's about the HIGH points

2008-11-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

The expression on my workout partners face, as she reached a new level in her running, reminded me of a chapter in the Body for Life audiobook regarding high points in your training. A high point being a memorable moment in your training where you pushed yourself to your limit. You then rate the high point on a scale up to 10. An example would be if you were doing pushups and you completed as many as you thought you could possibly do. Before you right down your 10 you need to ask yourself, if Master Brinker was standing over me watching could I have done 1 more. If your answer was "No" then pat yourself on the back and give yourself the 10 otherwise you can still give yourself the pat but go for the 8 or 9 and put a little more in it next time. It is creating these high points that makes your achievements memorable.

When you look back on your life you don't remember the times you emptied the garbage, you remember the special moments whether it is a smile from a child or shared in a laugh with a friend. I had one just the other day where there was a phone call that came to the house from what was assumed to be a telemarketing company. My 4 year old daughter answered the call and after a short time of listening she asked "Who is Randy and what do you mean by Available". The innocents and purity of the moment made this memorable.

Side tracked there a little with the Father story but the point is to get your mindset around achieving these high points which creates memorable moments and gets your body and mind going towards these mini natural highs. The workout should be relatively short (30 to 40 minutes)but building in intensity then dropping off then building up and then giving it 110%. When your done the lyrics from "Rocky" should be playing in your head.

In short, give it all you got then your done.

Until next week

Randy Shipalesky

Another one down

2008-10-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

It has been another good week with week 7 of the Body For Life challenge complete. The added daily tasks as a student member of the UBBT are getting easier to accomplish. Finding when it comes to doing the pushups it is better to just drop to the floor and start doing them than to think about it too much.

For those familiar with the Body for Life program Sunday is a free day to eat what you want. So Sunday morning as I sip on my Large Chai Tea latte from Star Bucks I notice the words of wisdom on the side of the cup "The Way I See It" which read "The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life."

Ah so true.

until next week

Totals from Oct 3rd start are:

Run/Walk/Bike - 55km

Pushups - 1890

Situps/ crunchies -1710

Sparring 12 rnds

Acts of Kindness

2008-10-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

There has been some discussion in the Black Belt class regarding acts of kindness and whether you were doing the act to be kind or gain points. I am sure that in most all cases the acts of kindness come naturally and with good intention however is it not the act itself that is important where we are setting an example for others and hopefully the kindness is seen as the way to be and passed on.

As far as requirements go it has been a good week and on track with most everything.

I attended the San Shou class last Tuesday and it was great to see the sparring abilities that the students are attaining. This class is a excellent opportunity for students to practice in a safe environment and build their confidence. Hope to see more students in the upcoming months.

Until next week where hopefully it does not take an hour to write something that should only take 10 minutes.

Randy Shipalesky

Get Started

2008-10-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

This is my first posting so to summarize the past couple of months is to state that I have undergone some fairly significant changes in a short time. The changes being mainly a shift in mental attitude along with physical improvements which are coming from taking the Body For Life challenge. If you have been reading Sifu Linda Shipalesky's blog you can probably guess who her partner is.
I have known for a long time the benefits and sense of well being that comes from exercise but like many people I got into a rut and the simplest yet toughest part about getting back on the right path was to take the first step of putting thought into action. It came down to making a personal commitment and not letting myself away with missing a day no matter what. I am into my 6th week of a 12 week challenge and have had to dig deep a few times for various reasons to keep going. With a few setbacks and increased pressure from an expanding business I found myself at times drawing on the same focused determination that I used to make it to a Black Belt. I am not sure focus and determination should be described separately but it works for me and I encourage the students to develop this. One thing that stands out for me over the last 5 weeks is the effect of doing something everyday. If I was to start all over working towards my Black Belt the one thing I would be sure to do was to do some form of workout everyday. It goes back to what we learned in school about a body in motion wants to stay in motion. So for those that are currently working towards your Black Belt do yourself a favor and start now to develop good consistent daily workout habits.

Going forward I am feeling motivated about being a student member of the UBBT and have more drive than I have had in some time. The months ahead will be tough but I see the growth that comes from a challenge like this as being well worth the effort.

Randy Shipalesky